


Chrysanthemum

by MzzMal



Category: I Love Yoo (Webcomic)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Heartbreak, I have no idea what else to tag, Why Kousuke?, chrysanthemums, prepare yourselves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 13:54:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15632019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MzzMal/pseuds/MzzMal
Summary: The silence woke her.





	Chrysanthemum

**Author's Note:**

> All of my works are imported from the I Love Yoo Amino. Come Join Us.

The silence woke her.

 

She pushed herself up from where she lay on the bed and looked towards the left side of her.

 

It was vacant.

 

She rolled over to the other side of the bed and the cold sheets kissed her warm skin.

 

She glanced at the clock on the bedside table which read 2:43am.

 

“He doesn’t even have the decency to call and inform me that he isn’t coming home tonight.” She muttered, burying her face into the pillow which faintly smelled like her husband.

 

* * *

 

 

Shin-Ae sat at her work desk, finishing up on inspecting account books and organizing financial records when her phone began buzzing off at the far end of her workspace.

 

She halted her actions to read the three unread messages. Two of which were from Yeong-gi and one from Kousuke.

 

She opened the one from Kousuke first.

 

_“Work kept me busy late last night and I wasn’t able to come home. I’m sorry that I failed to inform you. I’ll make it up to you when I come home. Have a good day at work.”_

 

Shin-Ae sighed and typed in her reply. _“It’s fine, I understand that duty calls.”_

 

She hit send.

 

She looked at the phone screen for a while before sending an _“I love you.”_ then moving on to the messages Yeong-gi left her.

_“Hey Shin-Ae! Do you want to go eat with me on your lunch break?”_

_“Your choice. :)”_

 

She smiled and and typed her reply. _“Sure, as long as you’re buying.”_  

 

The reply was immediate. _“Great! I’ll sync up my lunch break with yours. See you in a while.”_

 

Shin-Ae went back to her messages with Kousuke and saw that her latest message was unread.

 

“Guess he’s busy.” She uttered to herself while going back to work.

 

* * *

 

 

Shin-Ae walked out of her workplace and spotted Yeong-gi parked at the sidewalk.

 

She slid into the passenger seat  next to Yeong-gi. “Hey Yeong-gi.”

 

“Hey Shin-Ae. You figured out what you want to eat?” He questioned.

 

“Do you even have to ask?” She looked at him.

 

“Burgers it is then.” He said while pulling off.

 

After placing their orders and receiving their food, they took a seat at one of the vacant tables.

 

“So what’s up? How’s work?” Yeong-gi asked while popping afry into his mouth.

 

“Oh the usual, bookkeeping, updating accounting systems, preparing tax returns, so on and so forth. Honestly the monotony is boring but hey, it puts money in my bank account so I’ll live with it.”

 

Yeong-gi nodded in agreement.

 

“What about you? How’s work at the company?” Shin-Ae queried.

 

“Nothing I can’t do.” He replied.

 

They continued talking about anything that came to mind, enjoying their lunch until it was time for them to return to their respective workplaces.

 

 

* * *

 

 

When Shin-Ae arrives home Kousuke is nowhere to be seen.

 

She undresses herself and gets into more comfortable clothing after taking a shower.

 

She goes to the kitchen and prepares dinner for herself and Kousuke. She eats silently while scrolling through the newsfeed on her phone, interchanging to chat with Maya and Roka once in a while.

 

She washes her dishes and places Kousuke’s food in the microwave when she hears him enter through the front door.

 

She rushes out and greets him.

 

“Welcome home.” She said, running and jumping onto, him full force.                      

 

Kousuke staggered a bit and held her in place just in case she slipped off his frame.

 

“I missed you so much.” Shin-Ae said in between peppering kissing along his face.

 

“I missed you too, sweetheart.” He replied setting her back on the floor.

 

He pulled out a bouquet of flowers hiding from behind his back and presented them to her.

 

She took the bouquet and inspected it.

 

Chrysanthemums.

 

_White Chrysanthemums._

 

“I love them honey.” She smiled, placing a kiss on his lips.

 

Shin-Ae went to the kitchen and placed them in a vase filled with water.

 

She turned around but her path was obstructed by the broad chest of her husband.

 

He looked up at him.

 

“Are you hungry? I prepared dinner. Your plate’s in the microwave.” She informed.

 

“I’ve already eaten before I came home. I had a late lunch. I must admit that I’m more in the mood for dessert though.” He said, giving her a heated stare.

 

She gave him a coy smile. “I think I can remedy that.” She said before Kousuke lifted her up and escorted her to their bedroom bridal style.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Shin-Ae, in these upcoming weeks I won’t be at home as much because of an important project the company recently took on.” Kousuke informed while dressing himself for work one morning.

 

Shin-Ae was brushing her hair in the mirror. “All right. What are you going to do for clothes and hygiene though?” She asked.

 

“There’s a shower at the office and I’ll have assistant Jayce arrange my wardrobe.” He answered.

 

“Send your dirty clothes back here. I’ll wash and iron them for you.” She said.

 

He looked at her. “You don’t have to. I can have them dry cleaned.”

 

“I’m your wife. That’s what I do.” She reasoned.

 

He finished tying his tie and slipped on his coat. “All right.”

 

He walked to Shin-Ae and kissed her forehead. “I’m taking my leave now.”

 

“Bye.”

 

* * *

 

 

After Kousuke left, Shin-Ae went to the kitchen and changed the water for her bouquet and snipped the stem of each flower to try to preserve them a little longer. She observed them starting to wilt a bit.

 

Soon after, Shin-Ae left got work.

 

 

* * *

 

Laundry day was always a chore. Shin-Ae sighed. She was dealing with the whites first. She placed her blouse, vests and T-shirts into the washing machine, followed by Kousuke’s white dress shirt.

 

A faint scent caught her attention.

 

She brought the fabric up to her nose and inhaled.

 

This wasn’t the usual Bleu de Chanel cologne Kousuke usually wears.

 

It was more….feminine?

 

It wasn’t the type of perfume she wore, that’s for sure.

 

It smelled like something what Maya or Rika would wear.

 

What was it called? Flower Bomb?

 

She inspected the fabric closer and saw a blotch of red on his shirt collar.

 

* * *

 

 

It was the same with the darks as well. Only difference is that the perfume scent changed.

 

Viva la Juicy was the new scent that invaded her nostrils.

 

Shin-Ae wasn’t one to jump to conclusions but now….

 

She felt like jumping on head first.

 

“Kousuke isn’t like that. I’ve known him for eight years and we’ve been married for five of them.” She assured herself.

 

She went into the kitchen to change the water for the wilting bouquet, petals beginning to shrivel and turn brown, snipping at their stems for preservation.

 

Her phone vibrated in her back pocket.

 

She pulled it out and answered.

 

“Hey Shin-Ae! Wanna go out for some ice-cream?” A chipper voice asked from over the phone.

 

“Yeong-gi, what are you, five?” She asked, mirth in her tone.

 

“I’ll get you 3 scoops of any flavor you want.” He coaxed in a sing-sing voice.

 

“Oh, what the hell? When are you gonna be here?” She asked, giving in.

 

“I’m right around the corner. Come on out.” He replied, hanging up the phone.

 

Shin-Ae gave a mournful glance at the wilting chrysanthemums.

 

She left the kitchen and met up with Yeong-gi outside.

 

* * *

 

 

Shin-Ae dipped a spoon into her ice-cream and brought it to her mouth, savoring the taste.

 

“It’s good right?” Yeong-gi asked after taking a spoonful of his own.

 

Shin-Ae nodded absentmindedly.

 

Yeong-gi noticed Shin-Ae looking woebegone.

 

“Hey are you okay?” He asked nudging her shoulder.

 

“Huh? Oh yea, yea. I’m fine.” She replied.

 

Yeong-gi raised a brow. “You know you can always lean on my right? I’m your dependable big brother-in law!” He exclaimed throwing an arm around her shoulder.

 

A smile tugged at her lips “I know.”

 

“How’s the project coming along at the company?” Shin-Ae asked.

 

Yeongi-gi looked thoroughly confused. “What project?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Shin Ae was sitting in the living room watching a drama that was playing on the television but the words weren’t registering.

 

She heard the front door open and shut. She got up and met Kousuke at the door.

 

She smiled. “Welcome home.”

 

Kousuke walked up to her and kissed her forehead. “It’s good to be home.”

 

Shin-Ae caught a whiff of that scent again.

 

_Flower Bomb._

 

He presented her with a single flower.

 

_A Yellow Chrysanthemum._

 

She gazed at it.

 

“Don’t you like it?” Kousuke asked her.

 

“Its a beautiful flower.” Shin-Ae stated, taking it from him and placing it into a different vase next to the bouquet in the kitchen.

 

Shin-Ae went into the bedroom where Kousuke was undressing.

 

He placed his clothes neatly in their rightful places and went into the bathroom.

 

Shin-Ae took off the lights, climbed into the bed and wrapped herself in the covers.

 

A few minutes later Kousuke exited the bathroom. He slipped into the bed and got underneath the covers.

 

Shin-Ae’s back was to Kousuke.

 

He scooted closer to her so that he was spooning her.

 

A large arm wrapped itself around Shin-Ae’s waist.

 

“Kousuke?” Shin-Ae called.

 

“Yes darling?”

 

“Do you love me?” She asked. Willing herself not to choke on her words.

 

“That’s a silly question. Of course I do.” He replied, kissing the nape of her neck, non-the-wiser of the tears streaming down her cheeks.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Shin-Ae woke up to the buzzing of a phone. She reached her hand to the the bedside table and lifted it to her face.

 

She saw a stream of notifications lining his phone. All messages from Megan Cho.

 

_Kousuke I miss you!_

 

_When are you coming over again?_

 

_I love you!_

 

_Do you think we can try that new posititio-_

 

Shin-Ae willed herself to stop reading.

 

She glanced at the sleeping man beside her.

 

She couldn’t deal with this right now.

 

She placed the phone back down and went to restless sleep.

* * *

 

 

A beer bottle was brought up to thin lips. Seven more bottles lined the kitchen counter.

 

Dark circles were formed beneath the young woman’s eyes.

 

She stared at the wilted white chrysanthemums.

 

She chucked humorlessly.

 

“Does he even know what those flowers mean?”

 

She looked at the single yellow chrysanthemum as though it were mocking her.

 

She downed the rest of the beer bottle.

 

She picked up her phone and dialed Yeong-gi’s number.

 

He picked up on the second ring.

 

“Yeong-gi? C-can you come over?” She choked out.

 

“Sure! I’ll be there in ten.” He said, worried at the tone of her voice.

 

* * *

 

After recounting everything as of late to Yeong-gi, he physically began to shake with rage.

 

He clenched his fists. “Kousuke…!”

 

“I don’t think I can stay here, I don’t want to stay here.” Shin-Ae revealed.

 

“Get your stuff together. You can stay at my place for the time being.” He offered.

 

“I’m already one step ahead.” She said.

 

She went towards the bedroom and took a duffel bag she filled with her necessities and walked back outside.

 

She made her way to the kitchen and took the vase with the white chrysanthemums and emptied the water from it into the sink. She then took the now dead bouquet and threw it into the trashcan.

 

She glanced at the still fresh yellow chrysanthemum standing in the vase on the kitchen counter and walked away, exiting the house with Yeong-gi.

 

* * *

 

 

Kousuke was making his way out of his office when the door burst open and slammed shut.

 

Hardened emeralds bore into befuddled blues.

 

“Nol what do you think you’re-”

 

“You bastard!” Yeong-gi snarled and gripped Kousuke by his collar and slammed him into the nearest wall.

 

“You warn me about trying not to be another skirt-chaser like father when you’re no better!” He spat, slamming Kousuke into the wall again.

 

Kousuke winced in pain.

 

“You have your loving, caring wife who dotes on you and takes care of you, crying at home, drinking away her sorrows while you fraternize with Meg?!” Yeong-gi shouted.

 

“You’re being too loud. The whole floor would be able to hear-” Kousuke couldn’t finish.

 

“I dont’ give a rat’s ass about who hears and who doesn’t! All that matters is that you do!” Yeongi-gi roared.

 

He lifted his fist and it connected with the wall near Kousuke’s head.

 

“You fucking disgust me. You’re lucky Shin-Ae doesn’t condone violence. I would have beaten your sorry ass by now.” He grit his teeth.

 

He exhaled loudly. He turned and left the office.

 

* * *

 

 

Kousuke kept leaving messages and called her phone non-stop the past two weeks.

 

She knew she had to face him eventually.

 

She couldn’t do it.

 

But she had to.

 

The next time Kousuke called her phone she picked up.

 

“Hello?” She answered.

 

“Shin-Ae, sweetheart.” Her heart ached hearing his voice.

 

“I’ll come by the house tomorrow. We’ll talk then.” She said waiting for his answer.

 

“All right. I’ll be waiting he replied.

 

* * *

 

Shin-Ae opened the front door to the house.

 

She went and placed a brown envelope on the dining room table.

 

She walked through the house and found Kousuke in the living room.

 

She sat on the couch which he was seated on with a bit of space between them.

 

She looked at him.

 

“Is it because she’s older than me?” She finally asked.

 

“No. It isn’t. It all started a few months ago when I was at a party that was being hosted by a business partner of mine and I had a few too many drinks, as well as Megan and we ended up having these...for lack of a better word, trysts ever since. There were no feelings involved. Just two people satiating their sexual desires.” He finished.

 

“Then what do you think I’m here for? Don’t you think that you should be satiating your sexual desires with me and not someone else instead?” She asked tiredly, no trace of anger in her voice.

 

“I tried but I kept finding myself going back to her.” He averted his gaze,

 

“So what you’re trying to say is that it was like opening a can of pringles. Once you pop you can’t stop.”She clarified.

 

“Well if you put it like that, yes.” He said ashamedly.

 

“I can’t the thought that you were sleeping around with Meg. It makes me think, really think, long and hard, if you were ever mine.”  

 

“Yes I was yours ,I still am I….Please.” He was at a loss of what to say. He ran a hand through his hair.

  


“Your actions were despicable. I completely detest them.” Her voice quivered. “And what’s worse is that I can’t find it in my heart to hate you for it.” She gave him a watery smile. “I love you, oh god, I love you so much Kousuke.”

 

“Please don’t cry. I can’t-, I’ve never been able to stand it when you cry.” Kousuke got panicked.

 

“I love you...I love you so much, I’ve decided to let you go.” She said.

 

His blood ran cold. “Please, don’t leave me.”

 

Her left hand cradled his head, gold wedding band glinting in the sunlight which shone through the window. “Having to let you go is the hardest thing I’ll ever have to do, I’m just grateful for the time you loved me unreservedly.”

 

She leaned in to give him one final kiss on his lips.

 

He cupped her face and kissed back with everything he had.

 

Shin-Ae didn’t want to break the kiss. She wanted this moment to last forever, but alas it must come to an end.

 

Shin-Ae broke this kiss and looked into his sad baby blues and stroked his cheek with her thumb.

 

“I’m not enough for you anymore.”

 

She removed her hand from his face and looked at the ring that hugged itself on the first finger from her pinky on her left hand.

 

She hesitated. Fingers trembling slightly.

 

Solidifying her resolve, Shin-Ae slid the ring from her finger and took Kousuke’s hand which rested lifelessly at his side.

 

She placed the cold metal into the palm of his hand, closing his fingers around it.

 

She looked up at him and gave him a ghost of a smile.

 

“The divorce papers are on the dining room table.” She informed.

 

She stood up from the couch.

 

“This is goodbye.”

 

Squaring her shoulders, Shin-Ae walked out of the house, departing from Kousuke’s life,

 

Never once turning back.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank Yoo For Reading. <3


End file.
